Like Master, Like Padawan
by she.a.punk
Summary: Ahsoka knows better than to form attachments, but some things just...can't be helped. Thankfully, she has the one Jedi Master in the galaxy who just might know exactly how she feels. Rex/Ahsoka with a healthy dose of Anakin doing his best to be a good Master to a Padawan as unconventional as he once was. ONESHOT


_**A/N**_: I've been rewatching TCW series and in _Voyage of Temptation_ Anakin realizes Obi-Wan and Duchess Satine had a thing and there is a moment when Anakin attempts (at a very inopportune time) to broach the subject with Obi-wan, perhaps searching for guidance or advice regarding his own relationship to Padmé. But Obi-Wan shuts him down hard. So I was wondering, what would have become of Anakin if Obi-Wan had made a better choice in that moment and offered Anakin the guidance he so desperately needed? We'll never know. But I like to think, if the same situation ever arose with his own Padawan, Anakin would react better.

_**Disclaimer**_: I don't own them.

* * *

Ahsoka paced the corridor outside Anakin's quarters on the _Resolute_. It would be several hours before they arrived at the rendezvous point, and most of the clones on board were catching up on sleep or relaxing in the mess. She was glad for the downtime, she had been looking for an opportunity to have this conversation with her Master. Now if only she could work up the nerve to knock.

As she paced she found her thoughts wondering to a particular Captain on board. Where was he at this time of night? Laughing with Cody in the mess? Training in the gym? Catching up on sleep in his quarters like she should be doing?

Ahsoka frowned, rubbing one hand against her forehead. This was exactly her problem. It shouldn't matter where Rex was.

It shouldn't matter...but it did.

With a huff Ahsoka turned on her heel, ready to march back down the corridor to her own room because she wasn't getting anywhere anyway. Maybe she would try again after the mission.

But before she could make it two steps, her Master's doors slid open with a quiet swish.

"Something I can help you with, Snips?"

Ahsoka's shoulders hunched and she slowly turned around.

"Skyguy! Hi." She said with forced levity that just came across as awkward, "Um, what, um...How did you know I was here?"

Anakin crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorway.

"I was trying to complete my report for our last mission. But all the anxiety rippling through the Force from the hallway was making it hard to concentrate." He tilted his head at her with a small smirk. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

The Padawan winced. "Well..."

Anakin nodded and then jerked his head toward the inside of his quarters. "C'mon in."

Ahsoka sighed, but followed her master when he turned to lead the way inside. She pressed her palms against her thighs to keep from fidgeting and closed her eyes briefly, trying to get a hold on the anxiety she was "rippling through the force".

Anakin sat at the small cluttered desk in the middle of the room, having seemingly jumped back into his work, though if she'd been paying attention Ahsoka would have seen it was all for show and his attention was focused squarely on her.

The girl began pacing again without realizing it. It wasn't until her master cleared his throat that she realized she was wringing her hands and biting her lip too.

"Seriously Snips, spit it out." He urged her. When Ahsoka continued to pace and avoid his gaze he let out a light chuckle. "It can't be that bad."

Ahsoka's steps faltered slightly and a new wave of worry tingled against Anakin's senses.

"Ahsoka?" He said again, this time his amusement was replaced by concern. "What is it? Tell me."

At the command she stopped pacing and stiffening her shoulders, she took a deep breath.

"I am...confused, Master." She managed finally, one hand nervously reaching to scratch her elbow.

Anakin's eyebrows drew together.

"Okay. What about?"

He stood and moved to sit on his sleeping bench and shifted to one side, motioning for her to join him.

With another sigh, she did.

"I...don't understand the rule in the Jedi Code about attachment." She murmured.

Anakin's gaze narrowed.

"Yes, you do Ahsoka. We've been over it before. If you are too concerned about the well-being of one person, you may not make the choices that are best for the whole."

"But...what about Senators? The Senators of the Republic are there to do what is best for millions of people. But they're allowed to..." Ahsoka trailed off and her eyes slid to her master at the sharp spike of apprehension that she felt from him before his mental walls slammed back into place and it was gone.

"Master?"

Anakin sat forward, elbows on his knees and frowned at the ground.

"Why are you asking this Ahsoka?"

She swallowed hard at the use of her real name instead of his preferred nickname.

"I just...I..." She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Master."

Anakin frowned, his apprehension dissipating slightly at the softly spoken words. He turned toward her.

"For what, Snips?"

She kept her face down-turned, the stripes of her lekku darkening.

"I have...broken the Jedi code."

Anakin blinked, then, connecting the dots, "You've formed an attachment?"

Ahsoka hesitated and then the barest if nods.

Anakin sighed, flexing his hands and, feeling his real hand had grown sweaty, pulled the one glove off. He felt just a little bit badly that her line of questioning had nothing to do with suspicions around himself and Padmé. Relieved for himself, but guilty because it meant things were probably about to get complicated. Or, in Ahsoka's case, probably already were.

"Who?" He asked finally.

The silence in the small room was broken only by the low hum of the _Resolute_'s engines as they both waited for Ahsoka to answer.

She didn't.

"It's not...me. Is it?" Anakin asked haltingly. It wasn't unheard of for a Padawan to develop feelings for their Master. They spent long hours together, they often depended on one another for survival. And a Padawan spent years working for approval and validation from their Master. Although a good master, aware of this tendency, worked hard to keep their Padawan's feelings in check.

But Anakin wasn't always sure he'd been a good Master to Ahsoka.

To his relief, her eyes snapped over to him in disbelief.

"What? No!" Anakin smiled at her in clear relief and she returned it. "This is hard enough as it is. I don't think I'd be here if it was you."

Anakin nodded and chuffed a laugh.

"Oh. Good." He smiled, pulling his glove back on. "Then...who?"

Ahsoka sobered again and pressed her hands between her knees.

"Does he know? Of your...feelings?" He pressed when she didn't respond.

She shook her head. "But I don't think he would...you know, return them. Even if he did."

Anakin smiled to himself. He wasn't so sure. Ahsoka was wild and young, but also fiercely loyal and compassionate. He knew any man would be lucky to have her, but also knew expressing such thoughts would be the height of impropriety. Even in his head Obi-Wan balked at the very idea.

"How long have you felt this way?" Anakin asked, hoping a different line of questioning would reveal more answers.

"I don't..." She shook her head, "I didn't realize it was happening. Not at first. Now it's...I feel him...all the time. Like a...some kind of beacon." She stared at the wall opposite. "My stomach flutters when he's nearby. If he's in the room I always want to be able to see him." She frowned, as if accessing a memory.

"And the Force...it's like...I almost feel pulled to him. I can sense his aura in a crowd of a thousand so clearly it's as if he is standing beside me. I...I don't know what to do."

Anakin stood up, needing to put some distance between them as he decided on the best way to approach the issue. He walked to the other side of his quarters, staring at the wall as he was reminded of those early days with Padmé on Naboo. He remembered feeling as Ahsoka did. Like Padmé was a beacon for the universe. There were even days when he'd been sure the Galaxy had shrunk to leave Naboo as the only planet remaining in existence, and himself and Padmé were the only people on it.

He must have stayed quiet for too long because Ahsoka spoke again, this time trepidation and uncertainty in her voice.

"Master? Are you mad at me?"

Over his shoulder Anakin saw the wince on her face, studying the pattern of the bulkhead, her lekku stripes a deep blue.

He sighed.

"No, Snips. I'm not mad."

"Disappointed then?"

"Not disappointed either."

"I am. If I were a better Jedi...stronger maybe. I wouldn't..." She huffed and shook her head at herself. "I'm sorry Master."

Anakin took a deep breath and turned around.

"You don't need to be sorry, Ahsoka. There's nothing wrong with falling in love."

"Is that what this is?" She looked up at him, eyes wide and blue. "Love?"

The innocently asked question knocked the wind out of Anakin and he clasped his hands tightly behind his back to keep from reaching out to her and gathering her up into a hug. She had grown so much in the past few years, become so strong and confident, he often forgot how young she still was.

The desire to protect her was so often overwhelming, and the irony of the knowledge of his own forbidden attachment to his Padawan when she herself had come to him for advice about attachment was not lost on him. He regarded her as more of a sister than a Padawan, a fact Obi-Wan had lectured him on more than once.

"It may be." He answered finally. And if it was? A good Master would advise her to reject it, guide her in severing the connection she felt to this man. But, how could he? When the deepest, most enduring joy he'd ever known was when he held Padmé in his arms?

"But the Jedi Code..."

"The Jedi Code is good for a great many things. Not the least of which is making good Jedi." He acquiesced with a small smile. "But...it's not the only way to live."

Ahsoka frowned. "But...I've spent my whole life training to be a Jedi."

Anakin only nodded.

"I would have to leave the Order."

"Or live a lie." The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them and Ahsoka looked up sharply.

"I don't think I want to do that."

Anakin shook his head, thinking of the guilt he often felt when surrounded by other Jedi, and the way his arms ached to hold Padmé when she returned from a dangerous mission, knowing he couldn't reach out to her because someone might see.

"I don't think so either." He agreed.

Ahsoka sighed, her gaze dropping to the floor again. "Master I...I just don't know what to do. I don't want to leave the Order. But I...what I feel when I'm with him...I don't want to lose that either. What should I do?"

"Oh Snips." Anakin sighed, no longer able keep the distance between them. He crossed the room and knelt down in front of her at the bench, taking her small cold hands into his gloved ones. "Ahsoka. You're still young. You haven't taken the trials...you can still make a choice. But you _must_ make a _choice_." He gave her hands a quick squeeze. "And if this man..."

_"Rex to General Skywalker."_

"Go...uh, go ahead, Captain." Anakin stuttered over his response, not only due to the interruption in his thoughts but at the sudden wave of _passionfearlove_ that he felt crash into him when it surged out of Ahsoka. He'd never felt her emotions so acutely, and the strength and clarity of the Force Aura coming out of his Padawan in that moment was doubtless aided by both her proximity and her current emotional vulnerability.

He kept his gaze on her as he answered, and felt it again, though slightly more subdued as Ahsoka put her walls back up, when Rex responded that he and his Padawan were needed on the bridge.

"We're on our way. Skywalker out."

"Duty calls." She forced a smile Anakin recognized. He saw now it was a mask she'd been holding in place for a while now. And how long had she been agonizing over this and he hadn't noticed?

He stood up and she followed him to the door.

"Snips." He stopped before the door opened and she turned toward him.

"I'm sorry Master. I'll...I'll do better. I promise." She said in a rush to cut off whatever he planned to say.

"Tell him, Ahsoka."

Her eyes widened. "But..."

He shook his head, frowning at himself.

"As a Jedi, my answer would be that you must close yourself off from this emotional connection. And if that's what you choose to do I will help you." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "But as your friend, my advice is to tell him how you feel. If you're going to make a choice about the direction of the rest of your life, you should do it with all the facts." He gave her shoulders a quick squeeze and opened the door.

He led the way down the corridor and smirked, unable to resist tossing over his shoulder. "Besides, Rex is a smart guy. Maybe he already knows."

Ahsoka's lekku darkened until they were almost black and she groaned.

Anakin chuckled at the sound.

"C'mon snips. Your boyfriend is waiting on the bridge." The lift doors opened and he entered, turning to see Ahsoka backing away.

"Actually, Master, I'm feeling kinda sick, I think I'll just..." she jerked her thumb back in the direction of the barracks.

"Oh no you don't." Anakin Force pulled his Padawan into the lift with him and shut the doors.

"No fair, Master." Ahsoka grumbled folding her arms with a pout.

Anakin shook his head at her antics and then sobered. "Don't forget, Obi-Wan is on the bridge. I suggest you prepare yourself accordingly."

Ahsoka's lekku darkened again but Anakin was satisfied to feel her aura shift into neutral confidence that was more appropriate for the briefing they were about to attend.

"Admiral, Obi-Wan, Rex." Anakin greeted as they exited the lift. Beside him Ahsoka nodded at the others and he felt a small surge of pride that her emotions seemed well within check.

"Anakin." Obi-Wan responded. "Nice of you two to join us."

Anakin smirked, crossing his arms. "You know us, we like to make an entrance. Don't we Snips?"

Ahsoka folded her arms, mirroring Anakin's posture and earning an eye roll from the other Jedi.

"Sure do, Master."

"If you two are quite finished, we have a rescue mission to plan."

* * *

Two months later found Ahsoka walking through a jungle-like planet in the dead of night. She was injured, having taken a blaster shot to the arm, but relatively safe and therefore had plenty of time for obsessing over the interaction she and her lone companion had had just hours earlier.

_"Ahsoka, look out!" The voice that called her name was shot through with worry and fear, nearer a shriek than a yell, but she was filled with such an overwhelming surge of relief to hear Rex's voice that she had to resist the urge to laugh out loud. It would have been a very inopportune time to do so since the shout brought her back to herself just in time to keep her from being mowed down by a dozen battle droids that had already cut down most of her troops._

_After the crash landing that had them way off course, they'd been surprised by a Seppie ambush. She and her men had held their own but she could feel a small snap in the force every time one of the clones went down. One of the men, Tough, was an ARC trooper and, rather confusingly, had decorated his armor in blue stripes that were very reminiscent of her favored Captain._

_Ahsoka had a tendency to keep Rex in her peripheral vision while fighting, though she'd only recently noticed it when Anakin privately reprimanded her for being distracted during a battle._

"You need to figure this out, Ahsoka. Otherwise one of you could end up killed."

_She knew he was right. She'd been avoiding doing so, yes, but she did intend to. At some point. Then out of the corner of her eye she saw a Spider Droid impale a clone with blue striped armor, pinning him to the ground. She'd heard the alarmingly familiar scream of pain and the snap of the Force that accompanied a violent death. And she'd thought, for one blindingly panic filled moment, that she would never get the chance to tell Rex how she felt._

_It was then that she understood the Jedi Code about attachment, because her whole world seemed to implode and shrink down to that soldier. She didn't hear blaster fire or see the droids approaching her position, only the dark red blood that soaked the dirt on the ground where the man had fallen._

_Then she heard Rex's voice on her com and relief shot through her._

_"Ahsoka, look out!"_

_She did, but not in time, the droid's blaster fired at point blank range and she felt searing pain flare out through her left arm. But, now safe in the knowledge that Rex was okay, she put all her focus into defeating the remaining droids that surrounded them._

They'd been walking in silence for hours, hoping they were going in the right direction to meet up with the other troops, when Rex motioned toward a low boulder nearby.

"Lets rest a minute and I can change your bandage."

"It's fine, Rex." She protested lightly, but acquiesced when he placed a gloved hand at her back, urging her in the direction he indicated.

"And I'd like it to stay that way, Commander. So I'll change the bandage." His tone was firm but she found herself warmed by the concern that laced his words.

Ahsoka sat still when he unwrapped the old bandage, and hissed slightly when he rotated her arm, getting a good look at the injury.

"Sorry, haven't got any pain killers or bacta patches." He said, crouching down beside her to begin rewrapping it. She already knew this, he'd mentioned the same when he wrapped it the first time.

"S'okay," she shrugged her good arm. "It's my own fault."

Rex's amber eyes flicked up to hers before he pulled a new bandage from his belt.

"What happened?" He knew, of course, that a droid had gotten the best of her and she'd been half a second too late in deflecting the blast with her saber. What he didn't understand was why.

His movements were quick and efficient as he waited for her to answer. If he hadn't called out to her the Droid's blast would have hit it's mark and she would be dead instead of suffering from minor blaster burn.

The idea sent a shock of cold down Rex's spine and he shifted uncomfortably away from the thought.

"Got distracted." She said quietly, casting her eyes down to her hands.

Rex's brow furrowed. "I've never seen you get distracted in battle before."

"Yeah well I never thought I saw a droid kill you in battle before."

Rex's hands paused in their ministrations and he looked up to find Ahsoka's steady blue gaze locked on him, something soft and vulnerable in her eyes.

He cleared his throat against emotion that wanted to rise to meet her own and went back to dressing her injury.

"What do you mean?"

"Tough," her voice was still soft and stricken and it made him purse his lips, feelings he'd sworn to himself that he would keep in check pushing hard against his will. "I saw a spider droid kill him. For a second I... thought he was you."

Rex finished tying off the bandage and stared at it before responding with a sigh. "I'm expendable Commander, you shouldn't let the idea that I might..."

"I hate when you say that."

He looked up, surprised by the sudden anger in her voice.

"You're not expendable. Not to me." She softened her tone slightly and continued. "None of my men are but...especially not you."

"What," he started, trying desperately to keep his face neutral and his heart in tact, "what are you saying?"

Ahsoka took a deep breath to steel herself and gather her courage as well as stamp down the small voice that said she was being a stupid love struck child, not to mention a terrible Jedi.

Instead she did what she usually did. Exactly what she wanted.

"Rex, I'm...I'm so sorry. This is terrible timing. Not to mention a conflict of interest and breaking all kinds of rules but I..." She swallowed, mouth and throat suddenly dry, "I can't think straight when you're around. But...but somehow it's even worse when you're not there. I go crazy wondering where you are and if you're okay. Sometimes I think the universe might end if you were to...if something were to happen. And I've never felt so incredibly..._light_," she smiled and Rex would swear his stomach fluttered, if a man like Rex would ever admit to a thing like 'fluttering', "as I do when you smile at me. If I could spend the rest of my life right beside you I'm convinced I'd be happy. But I know, trust me I know, that you probably don't feel the same way." She turned her gaze to the ground, self deprecation entering her tone, "I'm a younger than you and you probably think I'm being childish and stupid and-"

Her rambling was cut off suddenly by Rex's hand on her cheek turning her face toward him and then the warm press of his lips on hers. Ahsoka startled slightly and stiffened causing Rex to immediately pull back and stand, placing distance between them.

"I'm sorry." He shook his head at himself, turning his back to her, "I'm sorry, Commander, I shouldn't have...It was inappropriate." His heart was pounding in his ears and he could feel his entire face burning and there wasn't even a sun out for him to blame it on. His eyes fell shut when he felt a pressure on his shoulder. Ahsoka tugged insistently to get him to turn back around and, after a moment, he relented.

"You surprised me," she said quietly. He drug his gaze up to her when he realized she was smiling. "Could we...try that again?"

Rex couldn't answer and instead held his breath when she brought both hands up to cup either side of his face and pulled him down slightly while she rose to her tiptoes to press her lips to his again. Chaste and brief, the kiss left both of them breathless. Ahsoka's senses exploded with _warmsafemore_ and Rex wondered if this strange electric feeling in his brain was how tinnies felt when a blaster bolt left sparks where their head used to be.

He bent forward when her lips left his, following her when she dropped back onto her flat feet, his hands coming to rest on her hips as he pulled her slight form flush against him, cursing for the first time the thickness of his plastoid armor. After a breath and a half their lips met again, slightly more confident, more demanding, their uncertainty bleeding away with every second.

Finally the spell was broken by Rex, his wide smile making it impossible to continue. Ahsoka smiled back, letting her eyes drift shut and he rested his forehead against hers.

"I was afraid to hope." He breathed, squeezing her hips slightly, drawing a nervous giggle from the girl.

"I... I feel like I could fly." She tilted her head up again, claiming Rex's lips easily in a way that was already starting to feel familiar. Too soon, Rex pulled away again, moving his hands to cup her face, his fingers brushing the underside of her lekku making her shiver.

"Ahsoka I...I've never been so happy, but," he shook his head slowly, "we can't."

Ahsoka dropped her eyes to his chest plate and placed her hand there as if she imagined she could feel his heart beating. She had no doubt it was racing, much as hers was. She'd never felt so deliciously out of control. For just a moment everything, the war, the death, her Master, the Council, everything just seemed so…far away. On this deserted planet, in the middle of the night, alone with Rex for what felt like the first time, she thought she finally understood what her master had been trying to tell her. That Love was a gift.

She wasn't ready to let go of this yet. She'd waited for so long. They both had.

It wasn't fair.

"Please Rex." She found herself saying. Rex rubbed his thumbs gently across her cheeks.

"What is it?" He said, instead of the '_anything. I'd give you anything_' that wanted to burst forth.

"Can we just…be us? Not Commander and Captain, not Jedi and Clone. For right now, can we just be Ahsoka and Rex? Just for tonight?" She looked up at him, her eyes dark and huge under the light of the stars and twin waning moons overhead.

There would be hell to pay, he had no doubt. And holding on now would only make letting go later hurt even worse.

And yet…he couldn't deny her.

"Okay." He nodded, "Ahsoka."

"Thanks Rexter," she whispered, tilting her lips toward his again.

He pulled back immediately, but not enough to break out of her arms. "Rex." He corrected her, raising a playful eyebrow.

Amusement gleamed in her eyes and she smiled.

"Right. Rex."

They built a fire and spent hours staring into it, relishing in a closeness, both physical and emotional neither thought they would ever experience. Ahsoka sat tucked under Rex's arm, her head resting on his shoulder and she would occasionally feel a brush of lips against one of her Montrals.

There were a handful of kisses, an occasional stray touch that would inevitably end with one or both averting their gaze and blushing furiously in the light of the fire. But mostly they just talked, telling secrets, telling stories, enjoying the closeness and steadfastly pretending the next day would never come.

But come, it did.

Rex watched dawn brighten the sky to the North, Ahsoka had dozed off at some point, but his hand kept up a steady rhythm of stroking up and down on her arm. He breathed the scent of the cooling embers from their fire as his eyes burned with exhaustion. He hadn't slept at all, hadn't wanted to miss a single moment of what would be their one and only night together.

He felt Ahsoka inhale deeply and she lifted her head.

"It's morning," she murmured.

Rex nodded, allowing her to slip out from under his arm so she could turn to look at him.

"It's over?" The question was asked with all the childish hope he expected of her, along with the resignation he himself felt.

"I think that would be best."

Ahsoka, looking resigned and disappointed. "You're probably right."

They both stood and silently went about gathering their things to get back on their way.

Neither knew what to say, words seemed hollow now, so they walked in silence. They stayed closer to each other than normal, but still not quite close enough to touch. Neither was sure who was maintaining the last bit of distance.

Ahsoka was the one to break the silence when the sound of other troopers in the distance reached them.

"Rex," she said, turning to find he was already looking at her. "Do you think we'll regret this decision?"

Rex itched to reach up and stroke her cheek, just once more. Instead he settled for grasping her hand, squeezing it quickly before letting go.

"I hope not."

* * *

They did.

They made it exactly three weeks before Ahsoka found Rex standing outside her quarters before she got into bed one night. He'd told her he was putting in for a transfer the next day. He said he was wrong, he couldn't go on pretending, and it would be better for both of them to spend some time apart. It was the only way.

Ahsoka had jumped into his arms and smashed her lips over his before he could finish the sentence, causing the Captain to have to stumble into her quarters to avoid being seen. Thusly, she informed him she disagreed with his assessment of their situation.

They hadn't spent a night apart since. They switched between one another's quarters, keeping strange hours, volunteering for guard duties, anything to allow them to spend as much time together as possible and still avoid anyone noticing.

They lasted seven months before someone did.

Ahsoka wasn't sure what woke her, and shifted, smiling at the feeling of Rex's chest against her back. He responded by tightening the arm he had wrapped around her waist. Then the sound that had brought Asoka out of her slumber came again, it was a knock at her door. She sat up when the knock was this time accompanied by the faint sound of someone calling her name.

Her stomach fell through the floor and she scrambled out of bed, whispering urgently to wake Rex.

"What?" The man sat up straight in bed, instantly alert. Instead of an answer he received an armful of his clothes and armor.

"Hurry! Get into the Refresher, Master is outside!"

As if knowing he was being spoken about Anakin knocked again and called out, "Ahsoka? Open up. C'mon Snips."

"One moment, Master!" Ahsoka called, hoping the Durasteel bulkhead would block the blind panic in her voice.

Rex was up in a flash, gathering his boots and the pieces of armor Ahsoka had missed as he stumbled as quietly as possible into the Refresher.

"Here!"

He turned around in time to see Ahsoka peel of his shirt and throw it at him and, before he could appreciate he sight, she followed it with his bucket.

He pulled a face just as she shut the door and she swiped her robe off a chair as she approached the main entrance, tying it just as she slid the doors open.

"Master! What a surprise."

Anakin was leaning against the wall across the hall and smiled.

"Hey Snips, everything all right?"

"Of course why wouldn't it be?" Ahsoka tried to force levity into her voice, hoping her Master's strong connection to the force didn't allow him to hear her heart hammering in her chest.

"Took you a while to answer the door."

"I was sleeping." Since it was true she let the honesty of the statement fill her face and her tone, hoping it would counteract the lies that were undoubtedly about to come.

"Can I come in?"

"Of course," She pasted a smile on her face and stepped back, her eyes immediately jumping to the Refresher door. "Did you need something, Master?"

"No just thought I'd stop by and chat." Anakin said, nonchalant. Too nonchalant for Ahsoka's tastes.

"Chat?"

"I haven't seen you much lately."

"We just spent two weeks evacuating a Republic base on that Volcano planet."

"True, but you know how missions are. Hardly any time to just," he shrugged casually, "catch up."

She did know. It was part of the reason she and Rex had been so desperate to spend time together, despite being together every day for two weeks. The strain of pretending that they were nothing more than colleagues was more than either was accustomed to anymore. Was it possible they'd been so focused on eachother upon their return that they'd grown careless? Had Anakin seen something? Had she said something?

"So what's new?" Anakin spoke again and Ahsoka's gaze snapped over to him, "I just feel like, outside of missions, you haven't been around much." He still had that blasted smirk on his face and it was making Ahsoka more than uneasy.

"I haven't missed any trainings have I Master?"

"No you certainly haven't. In fact you've been the picture of a perfect Padawan lately."

"Are you complaining about my good behavior?" Ahsoka smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"No no, far be it from me to complain about having a textbook Padawan." he paused walking around, observing her quarters slowly as if he had never seen them before. "Anyway I was talking to Cody and he mentioned noticing the same thing about Rex lately."

Ahsoka felt her stomach do that dropping thing again and she swallowed before answering. "I don't know what you're talking about Master."

"You don't?"

"Have you asked Rex about it?"

"No." Another smirk.

"Well maybe you should. I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation." The thought crossed her mind that she was throwing Rex to the proverbial wolf with that suggestion, but she was confident if she could get Skywalker out of her quarters, she and Rex could formulate a plan on what he should tell his commanding officer when he came calling.

"You're right, maybe I should."

To Ahsoka's dismay Anakin did an about-face and went straight to the Refresher, opening the door before Ahsoka could say anything in protest.

"Rex, fancy meeting you here." Anakin quipped, clearly unsurprised to find the clone in Ahsoka's room.

"Uh," Rex's eyes bounced between Skywalker's apparently friendly face and Ahsoka's wide-eyed worried one, "yes sir."

Anakin's gaze darkened. Rex was dressed only in his black under armor clothes, what passed for the Clone's civvies when they were off planet and not wearing their armor.

"What are you doing here, Captain?" Anakin had his hands clasped behind his back, but raised one, palm out, to Ahsoka when she tried to step in and answer.

Rex's gaze bounced to her again before meeting the General's. He stood straighter and squared his shoulders.

"Using the Refresher, sir."

"Using the Refresher." Anakin repeated, "in my Padawan's quarters."

Rex didn't falter. "Yes sir."

Anakin stared at Rex for several more moments before turning his gaze back to Ahsoka who, having drawn strength from Rex's seeming unshakable confidence, had also drawn herself up to her full height. He came to stand right in front of her so she had to tilt her head back to look at him. With one Hip cocked to one side, Ahsoka folded her arms over her chest and met her Master's gaze.

"Rex? Will you excuse us please? I need to have a conversation with my young Padawan here" Anakin's voice vibrated with anger. She had come to him, had asked for his help. Now she didn't trust him enough to tell her what she'd decided? Instead she doomed herself to the same double life he'd chosen. A life he never wanted for her. "_Now_, Captain."

They both heard Rex start moving, but instead of passing them and continuing to the door, he stopped to stand beside Ahsoka his arm brushing hers.

"All due respect, sir, I'd rather stay."

A smile almost caught Ahsoka's lips, but she managed to restrain it in time, instead lifting her chin defiantly.

"Master?"

Anakin held her gaze for several seconds before his shoulders slumped and he took a step back.

"Do you two have _any_ idea what will happen if someone finds out about this?" He asked, pacing away a few steps.

"About Rex's penchant for using the Refresher?" Ahsoka countered saucily.

"Don't." Anakin rounded on her in a move that caused Rex to stiffen and take a step forward. Ahsoka's hand shot out to touch the Captain's arm, holding him back. Somewhere, deep inside him, Anakin was glad of the Clone's immediate response to protect his Padawan, even if it was misguided.

Anakin shook his head. His anger suddenly seemed tempered by something like worry. "Do you have _any idea_ what they'll do?"

He was satisfied to see Ahsoka's gaze falter slightly, even if Rex's face remained impassive as if he was receiving a dressing down for not cleaning his weapon properly, instead of having a secret affair with a Jedi Padawan.

"You will be stripped of rank," he pointed at Rex and continued hotly, "and assigned to a garbage scowl for the remainder of the war. That's if you aren't sent back to Kamino for reconditioning. And you," his finger switched to Ahsoka who was now staring at the floor, "will be sent back to the temple. Don't you understand, Snips? They won't let you be my Padawan anymore. I won't be able to protect you." He dropped his arms to the side, helpless. "I thought you didn't want to live a lie, Ahsoka?"

Anakin waited, expecting excuses or apologies, that look of remorse that Ahsoka always got when she feared she'd let him down.

Instead, when she lifted her eyes he found them steady and determined. She unfolded her arms and reached down, clasping her hand with Rex's, who entwined their fingers immediately.

"The lie would be to try and live without him, Master."

Anakin pulled his eyes off their hands and looked at her. _My little Padawan_, he thought, with equal parts wistfulness and pride.

She wasn't so little anymore.

"I'll leave the Order before I allow us to be separated." Ahsoka continued, no trace of uncertainty in her voice.

"What?" The question came from beside her where Rex had tightened his grip on her hand. "'Soka, you can't..."

"I promise you, Master. I would." She cut Rex's protest off, her voice steady, but not challenging. Merely stating a fact. Anakin realized that for all her youth and inexperience, Ahsoka was already braver and stronger than he could ever hope to be. She was ready to make the sacrifice he knew he never could.

He swallowed and turned his gaze to Rex.

"And you?"

Rex was still staring at Ahsoka, and Anakin got the impression he was searching for his voice before he spoke.

"I would happily scrub plasma char off spare part for the rest of my life, if it meant spending it with Ahsoka by my side." He looked up and met the Jedi's gaze and added, "Sir."

Ahsoka let go of Rex's hand and stepped toward her Master.

"There are so few good things left in the galaxy, Master. Please don't ask us to turn our backs on this. Please."

Anakin stared at them both for another moment before he took a step back. The tension all but drained from his shoulders and he surprised them both by smiling. Then shocked them further by chuckling to himself, scrubbing one hand over his face.

Ahsoka and Rex shared a look.

"Master?"

"General?"

He just shook his head and smiled. "I've got to hand it to you two. You've got guts." He sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "I'm proud of you."

"Proud?" Ahsoka sputtered, incredulous, "for breaking the Jedi Code?"

Anakin waggled his head.

"Well, I wouldn't want a Padawan that just blindly followed orders anyway. Like you said, there aren't very many good things left in the Galaxy and the way this war is going," he trailed off, shaking his head as his face darkened, "If you've found something good here...I won't be the one to take it away from you." He nodded to himself, seemingly oblivious to the shocked faces of his two subordinates. They didn't understand. And they wouldn't. They couldn't.

Anakin was many things, but a hypocrite wasn't one of them.

Ahsoka and Rex stared after him as Anakin made his way back to the door.

"But, you two might want to be a little more careful. If I figured it out, Obi-Wan will too, and he won't be as understanding."

Anakin turned back and looked at his Padawan, perhaps only months away from taking the Trials herself to become a Knight. She had one arm wrapped around herself, keeping her robe closed, the other still entwined with the Captain's.

Anakin didn't want her to have to choose, any more than he wanted to. But, whether she knew it or not, he'd been living this way a lot longer than she had. It was not an easy path that lay ahead.

Ahsoka tilted her head at her Master's strange look and, as if by silent queue, Rex released her hand and drew an arm across her shoulders. Unconsciously, Ahsoka curled toward him.

Anakin only nodded, as if having received the answer to an unvoiced question, and then turned and left, allowing the door to shut behind him, allowing them to escape back into their own little world again.

_The lie would be to try and live without him_. He smiled to himself as he made his way to his quarters and opened up a secure channel to Courasant.

_"Ani, I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tomorrow."_ Padmé's image flickered and glowed before him and he couldn't help but smile, some of the tension he always carried when they were apart fading away.

"I know I...just needed to see your face."

Obi-wan was right, as usual.

He and Ahsoka really were a lot alike.

_END_

_**A/N**_: Thanks for reading my virgin Star Wars fanfic, please review if you feel so inclined!


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